These are nicotine patches (“patches” used in three steps: 21 mg-14 mg-7 mg), the nicotine gum (2 mg, 4 mg), sprays, inhalers, pills like bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Champix / Chantix), to name only the best known pharmacological aids.

These products are recommended for people who suffer from fear or suffer significantly unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Research has shown that these nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) can double the chances of successfully kicking the habit, as long as they are accompanied by psychological and behavioral support as offered by a doctor, services “I Stop,” or any other person or service recognized as reliable.

Indeed, these products do not neutralize all the cravings that occur in the different situations usually associated with smoking behavior. The emotional associations related to smoking – representing the psychological dependence – are often difficult to overcome.

A medical examination is recommended to ensure that the anti-smoking therapy should be considered in your health profile. Although some of these nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) are sold without a prescription, although you are advised to check with your pharmacist or doctor.

The patches and gum help the ex-smoker by providing a constant diffusion of nicotine for 24 or 16 hours, depending on the companies stamps. If the dose is too high (your sleep is restless, and you are having nightmares), it is advisable to remove the patch at night. It is recommended to follow the full treatment.

Don’t smoke while you are using nicotine patches.

Pills such as bupropion (Zyban), and varenicline (Champix / Chantix) do not contain nicotine but act on areas of the brain that are stimulated by nicotine. Result: The person usually feels less of the need to smoke . In addition, bupropion appears to significantly reduce weight gain in some people. Discuss with your doctor.

It should however be noted that there is no miracle that will make you succeed in your attempt to quit smoking without you making concentrated effort. But that does not mean that it must be painful. This is the purpose of this site, it is to help you quit smoking using a personalized approach, in a safe and fun environment.

In fact, did you know that laughter and pleasure are one of the best strategies you can use to free yourself from your addiction to tobacco? Your brain then becomes able to produce endorphins by itself.

HOW SMOKING AND NICOTINE DEPENDENCE IS CREATED
Nicotine is a naturally occurring substance found in the plant called tobacco. Tobacco is the only plant in the world that contains nicotine. Nicotine is a dangerous drug because it tightens its grip on the body and mind in a very subtle way. It produces a pleasing effect to the brain (by stimulating the production of dopamine) without disturbing your behavior (you’re not euphoric, depressed or sleepy, and you have no hallucination you stay normal). More …

How nicotine causes addiction

Addiction is created by a reaction of the brain to reduced levels of nicotine in the body, hence creating the need for you to regularly smoke and it always take a little longer and a little more to get the same effect as the last time. Physical dependence is expressed by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the amount of nicotine in the body becomes insufficient.

Although the withdrawal symptoms are not as dramatic as those caused by detoxification from heroin or cocaine, the addictive grip of nicotine is much stronger!

Smoking and nicotine physical dependence

For years, of introducing this powerful drug into your brain. With every puff, nicotine causes a stimulation to the brain in less than 10 seconds! This is the fastest way to send a drug to the brain. It immediately reacts by producing substances that make you feel good. And these produced substances are called endorphins, and one of them is called dopamine. Normally your brain produces and manages by itself these substances for it’s welfare when:
you do things that you love;
you experience pleasant situations.

Such as:

When you engage in physical activity (especially when you pass a good shot);
when you play an instrument or listening to music;
when you realize something you’re proud of (e);
when you’re having fun;
when you receive compliments.
when you receive a positive evaluation (promotion, commendations at work, etc.).
when you laugh;
when you’re in love … Etc..

(In the latter two cases, your brain produces a lot of endorphins.)

This is why you want to repeat these activities: they make you feel good because your brain produces endorphins when you engage in them.

The problem with nicotine
When you inhale the nicotine from tobacco smoke, you teach your brain to produce endorphins and manage mainly with the nicotine and you will become reliant on it to feel good.

In addition to physical dependence, nicotine and smoking causes a very powerful psychological dependence.

Why? How?

For every cigarette you smoke, you inhale on the average of 10 to 12 puffs. So for every cigarette you smoke you are injecting this drug (that contributes to your well-being) a dozen times into your body. Yes, smoking is nothing but a kind of syringe: an oral syringe. Each of these bursts will be positively associated in your brain to the event or situation that you were in at that moment. Whether you were having fun, you were bored, you were stressed or you were angry, you will ultimately rely on cigarettes to help you feel better. So in addition to having made your brain physically dependent on an external drug you will become programmed to associate smoking with all of your life situations.
It is for this reason that many smokers talk about smoking as a friend. Rather sad, is it not? And all this about a roll filled with pieces of a plant … You surely now understand better why it is so difficult to quit smoking … For a better understanding of this phenomenon, see the fact sheet you panic at the thought of quitting?

Perhaps you know a smoker who quit suddenly … The answer:
This smoker is part of the tiny minority of lucky (less than 10%) people who successfully quit smoking as well and are still non-smokers after a year. One could explain this success:
The less influence (dependence) that cigarettes had over these people; an inner journey made by them which led to a firm decision to kick the habit and with this decision came an unwavering desire to succeed (motivation) and also the identification of actions to be taken to overcome the obstacles. It is this kind of inner journey that this site seeks to make you realize.

The longer you wait before you decide to quit smoking, the greater your chances of developing health problems and it will it harder and longer to succeed. On the average, five to six attempts, may be spread over twenty years, may be necessary before quitting for good. Many become discouraged with the consequences that you probably know …

Think about it: Over the years, you have learnt how to manage your life with cigarettes … A cigarette supports you in every situation of your life, yet the more you consume it the more you are addicted to it and it slowly poisons you and you are also losing a small fortune with this habit.

So, what is smoking?
Do you really be able to experience these situations, in fact, your life without this insignificant paper cylinder stuffed small pieces of plant? Most people do not smoke, yet they also know how to party, how to go through difficult or annoying times. So …The sooner you decide to take action, the better your chances of learning how to breathe without that cigarette.

For years, the nicotine replacement therapy was the only option for many people to quit smoking. Lately, there are more solutions that you can use, and it is incredibly essential that you know these techniques when you realize that smoking is an addiction that you need to eliminate once and for all. With this realization, you will be more likely to abandon smoking naturally.

Although it is far better to quit rather than continue with your horrible habit, you will see that nicotine replacement therapy is not able to remove all the dangers of tobacco use. In addition, it will continue to give you the risk you can easily avoid by selecting nicotine-free methods.

Nicotine would cause your blood pressure and heart rate to increase, which would consequently boost your risk of a heart attack. For those who are not heavy smokers of cigarettes, the use of nicotine replacement therapy will add a large amount of nicotine to the blood, greater than if they smoked cigarettes. Nicotine is what triggers your smoking addiction, which is something you should definitely stay away from. NRT will try to make you quit by putting more nicotine in your body, there is no logic in trying to quit smoking cigarettes with the same thing that makes you addicted.

Nicotine replacement therapy is not ideal for a number of people, especially pregnant women and those trying to become pregnant. This shows that the effects of NRT is harmful even for people who do not expect.

When you decide to quit smoking without nicotine replacement therapy you must be knowledgeable about all the other methods you could use. Hypnotherapy is an all-natural approach to quitting. Hypnotherapists have the opportunity to change the way you think things so that whenever you get a cigarette, you will no longer want to turn it on. The hypnotherapist can also cause you to relate to the idea of smoking cigarettes to something that you revolt, therefore discouraging you from smoking.

Replacing your addiction to something that is not harmful would be another way to give up smoking. This would make you enjoy the benefits of a smoke-free life, without the negative effects that NRT could give you . Most people chew gum or eat candy, while others use a stress ball or other items that keep them busy.

Biological treatments have made it easier for people to remain calm and avoid the impact of tobacco use and nicotine replacement therapy. Since it is based on natural remedies, they do not include harmful substances and will provide much better well-being and health, not to mention that they put you on track to a much healthier way of life.

It is essential that you do what is best for your overall health and live longer for your good friends and family members. Keep in mind that regardless of the tactics you choose to use in quitting, you do not have to go through it alone, and you can get the help you need when you call for it. A fantastic support system would complement your efforts to stop smoking naturally.

A synthesis of over 100 studies showed that Nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation had been effective. Compared with a dummy treatment (placebo) treatment with nicotine replacement double your chances of quitting smoking! This is not in itself a miraculous solution, motivation and strategies to prevent relapse should accompany it, but this type of treatment helps in relieving disorders caused by nicotine withdrawal (withdrawal symptoms) also be acquainted with the nicotine withdrawal timeline .

Nicotine replacement for smoking cessation products come in different forms. In this category you will find a description of the advantages and disadvantages of each of these products: patch, gum, lozenges or tablets dissolve and inhalers.

How does it work?

Nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation alleviates withdrawal symptoms. They work by releasing nicotine in relatively small doses, coming slowly into the blood. The “shot” of nicotine received by the smoker is replaced by a gradual diffusion making weaning less painful.

In summary:

Nicotine, when inhaled with tobacco smoke, creates a physical dependence.

Nicotine replacement therapy offsets some of this lack of nicotine. They provide the nicotine your body received when you smoked.

They reduce withdrawal symptoms and allow you to focus on other important aspects of the judgment, social, behavioral and psychological aspects of quitting cigarette smoking.

Using nicotine replacement, you avoid inhaling tar, toxic substances, carbon monoxide and other toxic gases in contained in tobacco smoke.

Nicotine replacement therapy is medication. Please read the package insert or consult a specialist. A tobacco specialist will advise you while taking into account other barriers to your stop, psychological and environmental barriers.

Dosages of Nicotine replacement therapy

Logically, the more you smoke, the more you are dependent and the more withdrawal symptoms we suffer. It will then increase the dose of nicotine replacement therapy. The first thing to do is to calculate the dose at which it was used as a smoker. On average, a cigarette contains 1 to 2 mg of absorbed nicotine, for example, a smoker who used to smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day, will have to choose a patch 21 mg over 24 hours. The penny-dosing is common and can lead to relapse so the need to not sub-measure out these products and take them throughout the recommended duration (8-12 weeks).

Am I addicted? Quick test to determine the degree of dependence

Many experts believe that the dosage of nicotine replacement therapy should be about 1 mg of nicotine per cigarette consumed. According to this principle, a person who smokes 25 cigarettes a day could take a patch to 24.9 mg or take 12x2mg microtabs. This principle of 1 mg of nicotine per cigarette however, must be qualified. First, it must be remembered that the gums and patches release only 70% to 75% of the nicotine they contain, unlike any microtabs which nicotine is ingested. Secondly, recent research shows that the number of cigarettes per day should be weighted by the intensity with which one “pulls” on the cigarette. As against the type of cigarettes, more or less strong, has no influence on the amount of nicotine absorbed: light cigarettes are capable of delivering as much nicotine as regular cigarettes!

People who draw very hard on their cigarettes and fail to reduce their consumption will probably need a higher dose of nicotine replacement therapy. Generally very dependent smokers will benefit greatly from substitution treatment and monitoring by a specialist. Instead, people who smoke less than 5 cigarettes in a day, and who also smoke their first cigarette of the day more than an hour after waking up and do not feel withdrawal symptoms are probably not dependent. For these people, the Nicotine replacement therapy is less useful. If they still feel very dependent, it may be that addiction is less physical than psychological or behavioral. In such cases, a medical or psychological support is also provided.

Overdosing and under dosing?

All people are not equal before the same dose of nicotine. Often hereditary physiological factors, in fact determine the proportion of nicotine that becomes available in the blood and the body’s sensitivity to nicotine.

Overdose of nicotine replacement therapy is rare. But it happens, then it is better that you are able to recognize the signs: total disgust of tobacco, insomnia, unpleasant taste in the mouth, nausea, headache, dizziness, increased heart beat rate and diarrhea. In case of overdose, it is usually sufficient to remove the patch or gum or spit Microtab.

The under-dosing is a much more common occurrence when compared to overdosing. It is then the withdrawal symptoms appear, and they is an increased risk of relapse.

How can you differentiate the symptoms of overdose from those in dosage? Some symptoms are indeed identical (nervousness, insomnia), it is not always easy to know if it is because they take too much or not enough nicotine substitutes. In principle, if you still want to smoke, it is under-dosing. And if you are totally disgusted with tobacco, then it is an overdose.

If you suffer from this kind of symptoms or if you have a doubt about the dosage, the best thing to do is to consult a doctor.

Duration of treatment

Alternative treatments generally last three months and is stopped gradually. The dose can be reduced gradually. It is recommended to allow the body time to break the habit.

These three months are given as an indication average. It is above all a matter of personal strategy, we must determine alone or with a therapist. At most, it is recommended that smokers who quit nicotine substitutes to keep some on hand for the first few weeks, in case of urgent need (anything is better than picking up a cigarette!).

Treatments can be extended if necessary, when the imperious desire to smoke is still felt and premature interruption greatly reduces their effectiveness!

In summary, for or against?

It is an individual choice. Alternative treatments are not a panacea but they greatly increase the chances of stopping, especially for highly dependent people.

The best option is that they are accompanied by other measures of treatment and they is follow-up by a specialist. It is also important to take care of the psychological and physical dependence.

In addition, these treatments have few side effects and little risk of addiction. The slow diffusion of substitutes, in contrast to the rapid diffusion of cigarettes smoked (effect “shoot” in less than 7 seconds) protects against this risk. Indeed, the dependence depends especially on the speed of nicotine absorption.